Prelude of Disaster
by Ashana
Summary: It is the year 2008, and the Transformers have revealed themsevles to be real, having prepared the world through cartoons and toys. When the website Emily writes for pays her for an article with THE Optimus Prime, will she be able to survive the trials?
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Transformers in any way. The plot and some of the Mechs in this story are mine, but the rest belongs to Hasbro Inc. This story takes place in no specific time line, but pulls together more than just one of the series characters, plots and histories._

**Prelude of Disaster**

By Ashana

_**Chapter 1: Half-baked Schemes**_

**_Or_** **_Trouble With a Capital 'J'_**

**9:24 AM, May 7, 2008**

**Apartment 3**

**2424 Devin Road**

**Sumwhare, Maryland**

"Emily, I'm telling you, this isn't like one of those stupid cartoons!" Zach looked up from his book to glare at his best friend, his sister-in-spirit. She was sitting in front of the small travel TV kept in the kitchen, her nose nearly pressing against the glass.

"But Zach, they're real!" She sat back and looked at him. "I mean, c'mon! Twenty years of cartoons, comics, toys and a million dollar movie, all to prepare Earth for the first aliens ever to arrive!" She smiled at him eagerly, eyes flashing behind her glasses.

He rolled his eyes and shut his book with a heavy thump. "I'm telling you, Emily, there's no way you're going to meet Optimum Prune, or whatever his name is."

"Optimus Prime," she corrected, turning her attention back to the television. Her idol, the leader of the Autobots, was speaking with the president _right now! _Envy burst inside her as she watched the hanger the two were speaking in. The press was waiting for a conference with both leaders. Later that evening, world leaders would fly in and a pact of peace would be made between the Autobots and the Earth.

"You're about to fall off your stool," Zach casually pointed out with a sigh. "What's so important about this Prime guy anyway? He's a big robot, so what?"

"You have no idea, do you?" Emily shot him a glare. "He's the leader of the Autobots! The savior of Cybertron! The greatest Mech to ever live!"

Her surrogate brother rolled his eyes. "Please. The cartoons probably got everything wrong, if only to appeal to the human race." He settled back in his seat with a bowl of Lucky Charms in front of him.

"But I'm a columnist of the most widely-known Transformers fan site! I have to get an interview!" She gushed.

"It looks like he's going to be getting plenty of interviews." Zach picked up the comics. "Give it a rest, will you? I'm sure that you will eventually be able to talk to him. Like, you know, in twenty years."

**3:27 AM, November 7, 2008**

**Apartment 3 **

**2424 Devin Road**

**Sumwhare, Maryland**

It was 3:27 in the morning, and Zach did not want to pick up the phone. Despite his resistance, it continued to give sharp, measured rings right by his head. Grumbling into his pillow, he reached out to his nightstand and looked for the phone cradle with is fingers. Finally seizing the annoying piece of plastic, he pulled it up to his ear and hit the green 'talk' button.

"Hullo?"

"Zach? Oh gosh, Zach, it's Emily!"

"Emily?" He sat up a bit more, blinking. "Why are you calling? Is something wrong?" He rubbed at his eyes and shoved off his blankets. It was the middle of November, and snow swirled lazily outside of his apartment's windows, adding to the chill in the air.

"No, no, everything's perfect!" She sounded breathless and more excited than when the Autobots had landed only a few months before.

"Then why the heck are you calling me at three o'clock in the morning?" Zach fell back down on his bed with a heavy sigh.

"Zach, I found a way in!" She almost squeaked.

"A way into what?" He rubbed at his forehead, already feeling a headache coming on.

"A way into the Autobot base!" This time she squealed.

He blinked for a moment, trying to comprehend what she was saying. It hit him, and he snapped to attention. "What?"

"I found a way in! There's a gap in the security, just big enough for a human or two to slip in! Can you imagine the fame I would get for inside pictures of the Autobots base?" Her voice was rising octave by octave.

"You are _crazy! _And not in the good way! Do you know what they'd do to you if they found you?" Zach protested. "There's no way you are going into that…that war zone!" He relaxed a bit. "Besides, this is Maryland, and everybody knows their base is in Oregon."

"I already bought the plane tickets. Now are you coming or not?" Emily asked impatiently.

"I'm not coming, because you're not going!" Yeah, that headache was definitely beginning to hit.

"But—"

"No, no buts. You are not going, and that's final." He snapped.

There was silence on the other end. "Fine, I don't need you. I'll go by myself. I'm going to get this interview if it kills me." There was a click, and she was gone.

Zach sat there for a few moments, holding the phone to his ear. Eventually a computer automated voice came on and, in a monotone voice, stated the time to be 3:40, the temperature at 20 degrees, and the day November 7, 2008.

With a shout of frustration, he slammed the phone into its cradle and got to his feet, pacing around the cramped apartment room in a fury. His surrogate sister was so…so…infuriating sometimes! But she was always true to her word. With a groan, he sat on the edge of his bed. Fine, he would go, if only to make sure she never even _saw _the outer defenses of Autobase, Oregon.

**3:27 PM, November 7, 2008**

**Sumwhare Local Airport**

**Sumwhare, Maryland**

Emily nearly tackled Zach as he came through the spinning doors of the local airport. The only thing that kept them both standing was the large man behind them, who caught Zach's shoulders and held them both upright. He grinned cheekily at them.

"Going on a date?" He asked, laughing as they both blushed brightly.

Emily, ever the impudent one, gave him a disgusted look. "Ew, no! He's, like, my brother!" The man only laughed and ruffled her hair.

"Whatever you say," and picking up his suitcase, he left them.

Zach brushed himself off, glaring at her. "Can you _be_ any more embarrassing?" He asked huffily.

"You don't want me to answer that," she said with a 'tisk, tisk' click of her tongue. Rolling his eyes, he seized her upper arm and dragged her towards the doors.

"C'mon, we're going home." He declared.

"What? No! I've got to go, Zach! People from the website helped me pay for the tickets! If they find out I failed because my older brother is scared of the Autobots, they'll never let me write for them again!" She protested loudly. Luckily, the airport lobby was empty except for them and a sleeping security guard.

Zach dropped her arm and crossed his over his chest. "Scared? I'm not scared of a couple rusty robots!" He protested. Emily beamed up at him.

"Great!" Grabbing her bag and his, she took off towards Gate 12. A small plane, designed for fast trips cross country and fit for only five or six passengers, was waiting for them.

"Emily!" Zach gave chase. She handed over the tickets, pointed to him, ran through the metal detector and took off out of the gate and to the awaiting plane. The woman who had taken the tickets watched as he sprinted past and shrugged it off. Stranger things had happened.

Emily had boarded, given the pilot an energetic 'hi!' and taken a seat. There were six seats, three on each side, each one next to a window with a little walkway down the center. She had sat in the middle on the left side and was looking innocently out the window. Zach collapsed in the seat opposite of her, glaring. The only other passenger was the large man from before, and he already had his nose buried in a book.

"I hate you," he panted, looking around for his bag. Smiling, his surrogate sister pointed to the seat in front of him, where his small suitcase was resting.

"If you were going to stop me, why did you bring your suitcase?" She asked.

"Just incase this happened." With a sigh, he grabbed the bag and shoved it into the carrier above his head.

"Good afternoon folks. This is Frank, your pilot, speaking. We thank you for choosing Small Eagle Air as your transportation. Our small, hybrid planes will take you across the country to your destination before you can blink! Have a nice flight."

Zach tilted his head back with a heavy sigh. Well, so much for plan A.

**11:35 PM, November 7, 2008**

**Small Eagle Air 1231**

**Somewhere Over the United States**

Emily was curled up against her travel pillow and the window, fast asleep. The large man had nearly finished his book, and Zach was bored. He cast a casual glance at the man and his book, 'They Are Here'. On the front was a picture of Optimus Prime, optics seeming to stare at the young man. With a shudder, he turned back around in his seat. A few minutes of staring out the window later, and the book snapped shut. He turned back around and found the man examining him, so Zach examined him back.

He wasn't overweight, just large, as though he worked out some and inherited the rest. He had broad shoulders and well muscled arms beneath his grey t-shirt. His hair was brown and shaggy over dark skin, hanging down in a pony tail a few inches under his shoulder blades. His eyes were a bright green and bore into Zach like laser drills.

"And you are?" He asked, a smile forming on his dark lips.

"Zach. Zach Corrington," He answered after shaking himself out of his thoughts. He was nothing compared to this man. He was scrawny, with long arms and even longer legs, which made him around 6" exactly. His hair was black and ruffled, only a few inches long. Dressed in a Dragon Ball Z shirt and a pair of jeans, he looked nowhere near as impressive as this man. Blinking his dark brown eyes, he looked the man up and down. "Who are you?" He nearly smacked himself for sounding so rude. "I mean, what's your name?"

The man laughed. "Joe. Joe Carter," he held out his large hand and shook Zach's vigorously. "I'm a reporter for the New York Times. And you?"

"I'm in college, studying to be a computer graphics designer." He smiled and carefully withdrew his slightly-crushed hand. "So what's in Oregon?"

"Nothing," Joe Carter sat back, "Nothing at all."

Emily snorted from where she was sleeping. "Huh, yeah, nothing at all." She quoted, glaring at Joe from underneath her untidy red hair. Their green eyes met for a moment, and he smirked.

"So you're after them too?" He asked.

"Sorta. I just want an interview. You?" She sat up and stretched, pulling her waist-length hair back into an untidy ponytail.

"Same. Who's the interview for?" He leaned forward eagerly.

"They Are I'm one of the best journalists the Transformers section has." Zach snorted and received a pillow in the face. Spitting out a loose feather, he tucked it behind his head and sat back.

"Okay, there. Now we don't have to sneak in. We'll just have the interview with Joe, a three way deal." He said, suddenly feeling much better about the ordeal.

Joe gave a nervous cough. "That's a problem," he commented. Zach opened one of his eyes, a dangerous gleam in them.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, I was actually planning on sneaking inside myself." He coughed again. Emily sat up eagerly.

"Really? Yes! Now we have another member of our camera strike team!" She cheered, patting Zach's leg. "Isn't this great?"

"Emily," he began to sit back up, but she was already chatting away with Joe about Optimus, Red Alert, and all the other famous bots the world had been introduced to. With a groan, he laid back and placed a hand over his eyes. It was going to be one heck of a week.

**7:22 PM, November 8, 2008**

**Science City Regional Airport**

**Science City, Oregon**

"So where are you staying?" Emily asked Joe Carter curiously as they went through the security check out at the larger Science City Airport.

"A friends house a few miles east of Autobase." He took his suitcase as the officer offered it to him. Emily and Zach followed the suit. "Where are you staying?"

Zach looked expectantly at Emily, and nearly tripped over his feet when she shrugged, "Never really thought that far ahead."

Joe chuckled. "You're welcome to stay with Carole, I'm sure. She lives in a beach front house her parents left her; it's huge!"

"Really?" Emily practically squealed. "Oh, thank you Joe! This is so cool!"

Zach put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her a few feet away. "Excuse us," he said to Joe. "Aren't you at all worried about this guy?" He asked. Emily shook her head.

"He's a fellow Transformer Fan. He's not bad at all! Besides, we'll take a cab to their house, and if anything goes wrong, we run." She shrugged.

"But what if we can't get away?" He threatened.

"Then we fight." Smiling, she hugged Zach tightly. "Don't worry, bro. I have a good feeling about this guy!" With that, she turned, picked up her bag and followed Joe towards the parking lot, where a cab was already waiting for them.

**8:04 PM, November 8, 2008**

**295 Beach Boulevard**

**Terran City, Oregon**

Carole was a sweetheart, Zach had to admit. The second they had shown up, soaking wet from running up the long driveway in the rain, she had ushered them in, sat them down around a warm fire in the parlor and served them hot chocolate and a plate of chocolate chip cookies she had made that morning. After they had been able to change clothes, she had given them all warm blankets and made sure they were comfortable before settling down herself.

Joe winked at the other two. "See? Told ya she's an angel," he grinned.

Zach and Emily both nodded, too worried about drinking their hot chocolate before it got cold to answer. Carole laughed and smiled at the two.

"So how old are you dears?" She asked politely. Emily drained her cup and set it on its coaster.

"Well, I'm seventeen, and Zach here is twenty." He nodded and put a handful of mini marshmallows into his half-empty cup.

"How sweet! Are you two dating?" Carole asked, smiling sweetly. Emily snickered and Zach chocked into his cup. Wiping his mouth on a napkin, he shook his head.

"No, no, we're just very good friends." He answered.

"Almost brother and sister," Emily chirped, before moving to the edge of her seat. "Carole, have you seen a Transformer yet?" She asked eagerly.

Carole laughed and smacked Joe's leg lightly. "You've brought me a couple of Autobot crazy kids!" She accused. "Yes, I've seen some of the Autobots. A few of the younger ones, Bumblebee, Hot Shot, Hot Rod and a few others, came down one day to the unused stretch of beach a mile south of here. I was talking a walk and saw them from a cliff edge a bit away." She chuckled. "They were acting like little kids, playing around and splashing each other. One of them saw me and they all kinda froze up. It was the funniest thing!"

"Did you go say hi?" Emily asked eagerly.

Carole shook her head. "No. The Autobots really are bigger than you think. They're huge! I was too scared, so I just gave them a little wave and continued my walk back home."

"Aw," Emily sat back in her seat, Joe mimicking her expression. "I want to meet them!" She declared. Zach rolled his eyes.

"We know." Carole and Joe chuckled at her insulted look, before she sighed and sunk back into the couch she was sharing with Carole. The older woman patted her head.

"You must be tired. Come on, there are several guest rooms upstairs. I'm sure you could all use a good nap." The three nodded and she ushered them up the foyer stairs. "The first three doors on the right. I went ahead and put your stuff in your rooms. Sleep tight!" She called after them as the trudged towards their rooms.

With a sigh, Zach found his-the middle room-and flopped down onto the bed with a heavy sigh. He heard Carole moving around downstairs, cleaning up where they had eaten and talked, and felt a bit guilty. Sitting back up, he quickly exited the nice guest room and headed down the carpeted stairs. Carole looked up as the rapped on the parlor wall.

"What is it, Zach?" She asked kindly.

"I was wondering if I could help," he nodded to the mugs on the table and the empty tray of cookies.

"Ah, aren't you the sweetest!" She exclaimed, smiling brightly. "Yes, I could use some help. Could you put those cups on the tray and wipe up the crumbs?" She pointed to the rag already sitting on the table. He nodded eagerly and quickly stacked the mugs and cleaned the table. Carole pulled her gold curls away from her face and began to fold up the blankets and towels that had been set beside the chairs. She paused when Zach gave a heavy sigh, and saw him simply staring at the dying fire. "What is it, dear?"

"Carole, are the Autobots," he paused and swallowed, "They aren't dangerous, are they?"

She smiled, "Of course not!" She kneeled beside him. "Zach, the Autobots are very kind, just very busy. I'm sure they'll take time to talk to you and your sister, though. All you have to do is ask."

"What if, hypothetically, Emily tried to sneak into their base? Do you think they would hurt her?" He asked.

"Well, as long as this is hypothetical, I don't think they would. She might get in trouble, but they would never hurt a sweet little girl like her." Carole smiled and patted Zach's shoulder. "Go to bed, Zach. It's been a while since I've had company, and you need to rest if you're going to have my grandmother's famous chocolate chip pancakes tomorrow."

He nodded. "Thanks, Carole. G'night!" He returned to his bedroom, feeling slightly better about his sister's insane ambitions.

**10:26 AM, November 9, 2008**

**Outside Porch**

**295 Beach Boulvard**

**Terran City, Oregon**

"Bye Carole!" Emily gave the young woman one more tight hug, her camera hitting against her hip. Smiling as her hair was ruffled, she bounded towards the car the three were borrowing, "Shotgun!"

Zach rolled his eyes. "Thank you very much for letting us stay here, Carole." He smiled. Carole patted his shoulder.

"Take care of those two nuts, Zach." She made him promise. "Make sure they don't get stepped on from annoying the Autobots too much."

"Don't worry, I will." Behind them, Joe smacked the horn impatiently. "Thanks again. See you later tonight, hopefully with an interview!" He ran off towards the black sedan and climbed into the back. "Ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah, but why are you suddenly all for this plan?" Emily turned in her seat and looked at him suspiciously.

"Well, I've come up with a plan of my own." He smirked.

"Will it work?" Joe asked as he backed onto the road.

"Yeah, it's very simple: we ask for an interview instead of sneaking around." Zach sat back, smirking. The two in the front frowned.

"You're kidding, right?" Emily asked. "I mean, c'mon, where's the fun in that?"

"I don't think that becoming a human pancake is fun." Zach pointed out.

"Have you ever heard an Autobot walk?" Joe asked, pulling onto the highway, heading east. "I mean, c'mon! They're huge! We'll be able to hear them coming and find a good hiding place before they even see us."

"But…but…" Zach glared at them. "What if we get in trouble? Big trouble? Like Carole said, the Autobots are huge! And what if those decepti—Decepticreep things show up while we're there?"

"Decepticons," the two corrected concurrently. Emily turned and frowned at him.

"Haven't you been paying attention to _any _of the news? The Decepticons are all either dead, reformatted or in jail. Jeeze, pick up a newspaper once in a while!" She snapped, but lowered her voice when she saw the uncertainty on his face. "Look, Zach, we'll be fine, I promise." She crossed her heart. "The security gap leads into one of the storage sheds. We aren't coming out in dangerous territory or anything." She patted his knee. "Trust me. I've been going over these plans for a month, and Joe has for two. With my knowledge of Autobots, his schematics and your caution, we'll get in and out with no problem!"

**12:48 PM, November 9, 2008**

**Base of Covington Crater**

**Oregon**

The three had parked the sedan a mile from the actual crater. Only a few days before the Autobots had made their appearance, a piece of space junk had crashed and formed a huge hole in the earth, the ground rising up around it like a mountain. The mountain side, however, had been affected by the energon that was coursing through the junk, and half steel trees and grasses had flourished into a metallic green forest in only a matter of days. The energon had worn off slightly since then, and the plants growing speed had reduced to that of a normal earth species.

Zach shook his head as Emily and Joe took turns explaining this all. The space junk had been part of the Autobot ship that had been broken off when they had lost power going through the meteor belt near Mars and Jupiter. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he looked at the two of them. Both were dressed in camoflauge jeans and jackets, Emily's pink, Joe's green. Frowning, he looked down at himself. How they had ever talked him into wearing blue camoflauge was beyond him.

"You realize you stick out like a sore thumb, right?" He asked Emily. She gave him her usual perky little smile and giggled.

"Yep! Just incase we don't get to safety, at least they can see me!"

"That makes me feel _so _much better." Zach rolled his eyes. Joe threw his arm around the boys shoulder.

"Cool it, man. This is going perfect so far. We found the blank spot, and there's no patrol up at the top of the crater. We can be in and out in no time, with pictures to prove it!" He held up his own camera, grinning.

"I still think this is a bad idea," but he was ignored as the other two began to scrambled up the crater edge, snapping excited pictures of the technorganic plants. Throwing his arms above his head in an 'I give up!' motion, he followed them.

**1:30 PM, November 9: 2008**

**Edge of Covington Crater**

**Autobase, Oregon**

"Did you have to take pictures of _everything _that moved?" Zach panted as they rested at the lip of the crater, passing around a canteen of cool water.

"Yes," Emily and Joe answered as their less enthusiastic friend took a deep swig.

"How old are you anyway, Joe?" He asked as he wiped his mouth on his arm.

"Twenty-five," He shrugged. "Why?"

"Just wondering. How old is Carole, then?"

"Twenty-four." Joe blinked at the startled look on Zach's face. "What?"

"She just seems a lot older than that." Zach admitted, taking another drink.

"I dare you to say that to her face," Emily challenged him, and he once more chocked on his drink. Spluttering, he shook his head, before closing the canteen and chucking it at his sister.

"Shut up."

Joe reached out and caught the canteen. "I think we've rested long enough. Let's go down." He pointed to Autobase.

It was like a mini silver city. Towers and long, stumpy buildings rose up from the metal base, reaching towards the sky, bypassing the edge of the crater in some parts. Surrounding the city was a silver fence, crackling with electricity. A military road led through part of the crater and through two security gates before disappearing underneath the city. Small, squat buildings, the storage sheds, were the closest to the three humans.

"Do you have the map?" Emily whispered to Joe, the gravity of their mission suddenly falling over them.

"Yeah; we need to get to that storage shed, the closest one. The Autobots rarely ever use it." He pointed out the shed to her, and they began to discuss the best way down. The slope wasn't steep, but it wasn't gentle either. Zach tuned them out for a moment, and instead watched the Autobots working down in Autobase.

Carole was right; they were larger than the cartoons and comics gave them justice. Several of them, Mechs and Femmes alike, were carrying around metal beams and large plates to a small construction sight. Others were playing what looked like basketball on a half-court with a glowing ball of energy that darted around when one of them lost their hold on it. Still others were patrolling, guns and rifles at the ready, but there were only a few of those. The rest were laying back, talking, laughing and sipping small cubes of glowing liquid. Among them were a few human scientists and one that wore a large white bag with a red cross on it. They chatted casually with the others, sipping on their own soda and coffee.

It reminded him a lot of his college campus. Scratching his head, he tried to decipher what a group of femmes were laughing about, and nearly had it, before Emily and Joe yanked him to the ground.

"C'mon, we're going down! You did hear the plan, right?" Emily gave him an impatient look.

"Uh, no," he admitted sheepishly. The two sighed and shook their heads at each other.

"Look, halfway down the mountain theirs a drain pipe in the back of a cave. The Autobots set it up incase of heavy flooding when they were discussing having the base higher up. But they put the base in the valley and forgot about the pipe. It leads under the base and into the storage shed we need. So stick to the trees and stuff until we get down there."

Zach nodded and looked around the crater edge. Just like the outside, it was full of technorganic trees. Carefully, he followed the other two as the scrambled down the crater, using the trees and bushes as cover from wandering optics. After a half-hour of false alarms and several quiet tumbles, they reached the cave. It had no ledge leading up to it, so they had to risk swinging in from the top. Emily, being the most noticeable (not to mention the youngest), swung in first. Joe went second, and they both pulled Zach in behind them. The cave was shallow, with a large hole in the back where the flood pipe was situated. The three peered down into the sharp vertical drop and shuddered.

"Where does it go?" Zach asked as Emily dug around in the bag she had brought. She pulled out a flashlight and shined it down the steep drop.

"Straight down to ground level, and then curves under the base, and from there straight into the ocean." Joe answered.

"And we're getting down there how?" Zach asked, taking the flashlight and bouncing it off the steel plated interior of the pipe. There were the tiny ledges where two pipes met, but that wouldn't be enough to help them down.

Joe backed up and pulled off his own pack. Earlier that morning they had divided up the food and tools. Zach got the food, the others got the tools. Pulling out a green nylon rope, Joe grinned. "We climb."

"That's not going to be enough to get us to the bottom," Zach pointed out.

"We only have to go half way down." Emily took the flashlight back and lay down on her stomach, shining the light down the pipe as far as she could. "Halfway up are maintenance steps. They might be a bit big for us, but they should do." She smiled up at him. "C'mon Zach, smile! We're having an adventure here!" She pulled back and nodded to Joe. "It's all yours, Joey."

"Its Joe," he muttered, his face coloring slightly. Ignoring Zach's snickers, he tied one part of the long rope to a sturdy bolt by the pipe opening. Checking that it was fast several times, he nodded to the others. "You go down first, Emily. You're the lightest."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! I am not letting Emily go down that thing without someone testing it first!" Zach jumped forward, waving his arms.

Joe held it out to him. "Congrats," he thrust the rope into his hand. "You go first. Emily will go second. I'm the heaviest, so I'll go last."

Blinking, the younger boy looked at the rope in his hand. Joe and Emily stepped back, grinning. "You said you wanted it tested," Emily prodded.

"But…but…Agh!" With a heavy sigh, Zach moved to the edge of the pipe. "If I die, you two owe me a nice gravestone." He accused, before shoving the rest of the rope into the metal pit. It dangled and swung out of sight. Emily handed him a large flashlight with a handle, which he tied to his belt, allowing it to point downwards.

"Don't worry, Zach, you'll be fine." Emily comforted him. "Now go before we all turn into old people!" He nodded and sat down on the edge of the tunnel, looking down. It plunged maybe half a mile, where it curved and fell parallel to the ground. The tunnel itself was big enough for Zach to swing around in a comfortable circle and not even touch the walls. Yeah, Transformers were big.

Carefully, Zach slid onto the rope and was suddenly dangling in mid air. The rope swung a bit, and then steadied. He turned so he was facing the wall and placed his feet against the edge. Carefully, hand under hand, he began his decent, using the pipes large ridges and bolts to steady his nervous feet. Soon a second flashlight landed on him.

"How are you doing?" Emily yelled down. He looked up, and saw that he had gone about twenty feet in the past ten minutes.

"Good, good! I'm doing fine!" Zach shouted back up, clutching the nylon tightly. This idea was stupid, reckless and would get them into more trouble then he liked to fathom. But if this was what it would take to make Emily happy (and teach her a lesson about the dangers of trespassing), he would do it.

"Beam your flashlight up here when you get to the maintenance steps! We'll slide down the backpacks!" Joe shouted. Zach gave him a thumbs up and continued his journey downwards.

**2:20 PM, November 9, 2008**

**One-fourth of a Mile Down the Pipe**

**Autobase, Oregon**

Many close calls and slip ups later, the steps came into sight. Well, they were more like ladder rungs, jutting out of the piping, several feet apart. The rungs were thick and flat, and gave Zach just enough room to sit down and rest. The nylon rope ended just a few feet below the first rung, almost reaching the second. After catching his breath, he flashed his light up the pipe.

"I'm down!" He shouted before flicking off his light. Emily beamed the other one down at him, and the rope was swiftly hauled up. Ten minutes later it was carefully being lowered back down, the three backpacks tied to the end. Zach got to his feet as they reached him and carefully untied each one before hooking it onto one of the nearby bolts. "'Kay, they're off!" He yelled. There was a shout back, and a pink figure began to scramble down the nylon rope. Zach blinked and sat back as Emily fairly flew down, jumping off of the bolts and rims like she was repelling. Her brother shook his head; she was much more athletic—and motivated—than he was.

In no time at all, she was sitting beside him, panting and wiping sweat off her forehead with her arm (the jacket had been tied around her waist). "It's all yours, Joe!" She shouted upwards.

"Okay, coming down!" A dark green, muscular blob appeared on the rope and began its way down, descending much quicker than the other two. Emily bounced around the rung like it was a balance beam, even doing a cartwheel or two. She snatched up her pink, camoflauge and threw it over her shoulder.

"This is so exciting! Don't you think so, Zach?" She asked, smiling brightly when he shined his flashlight on her.

Despite his anxiety, Emily's energy was contagious, and he found himself agreeing with her. "Yeah, it is, actually." He grinned, looking below them. "So how are we going to get down there?"

"Joe has a second rope in his bag. That'll take us the rest of the way down. Can I have a rice crispy treat?" She asked.

Grabbing his blue bag, Zach dug around and handed her one as Joe landed beside the two of them, dusting off his hands. "That looks good. C'n I have one?"

The three sat snacking in silence for a moment, making sure they put their trash back into the bag. Joe finally pulled another cord of nylon rope, pink this time, and with a bit of difficulty tied it around the rung they were sitting on.

"About another quarter of a mile and we're good." He nodded. "I'll go first this time. Send down the packs when I shine up my light." Fastening his own flashlight around his waist like Zach had done, he swung over the edge of the rung and swiftly climbed down. Emily and Zach watched him in fascinated silence as he repelled against the other rungs and reached the ground in only a matter of minutes. Shaking their heads at each other, they pulled up the rope and fastened the three bags to it.

"Ready Joe?" Emily shouted down.

"Yeah, send 'em down!" He replied. Carefully, the two lowered the bags to Joe, who pulled them off and dropped them to the ground. "You come down next, Zach, then Emily!" The older man ordered.

"Sure thing," Zach replied, and with much more confidence than before he swung over the edge and scurried down the rope, using the rungs to rest whenever he reached one. Sweat was pouring down his forehead by the time he reached the ground, and as Joe shouted up to Emily, he pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around his waist.

"Coming!" Emily shouted from the top, sliding over onto the rope. She was about one third of the way down when something unimaginable happened.

The rope snapped.

She hung in the air a second, as though they were in a Looney Toons show, and then gravity took over and managed to pull a scream from her throat as she fell. Joe shoved his flashlight into Zach's hand and bound forward to catch the falling girl, but not before she hit one of the rungs with an earth shattering crack that echoed around the tunnel. She landed in Joe's arms, eyes wide, face pale. Her arm was clutched to her chest, covered in blood, a thin sliver of bone slicing through the skin.

**Fin Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Transformers in any way. The plot and some of the Mechs in this story are mine, but the rest belongs to Hasbro Inc. This story takes place in no specific time line, but pulls together more than just one of the series characters, plots and histories._

**Prelude of Disaster**

By Ashana

_**Chapter Two: Surprises for All**_

**_Or Cold Confines_**

**3:00 PM, November 9, 2008**

**Bottom of Drainage Pipe**

**Autobase, Oregon**

Very rarely did Emily cry, and this was no exception. She sat on the bottom rung of the pipe, a few feet off the ground, arm wrapped in a makeshift sling made from Joe's jacket. Zach sat beside her, eyeing Joe as he examined the nylon rope. The end near the top had been sawed off by the two boys swinging as they came down. Carefully, the brother wrapped his jacket around the trembling girl's shoulders. Her lip was bleeding where she had bit it through during the fall. He wiped away the fresh blood with a napkin that had been in his bag.

"Are you sure you're alright? Beside, you know, the obvious." He asked gently.

Emily sniffed and glared at him. "I'm…I'm fine, okay? Stop asking." She slumped back into his jacket, pulling it around her with her left arm, her unbroken one.

The two winced as Joe let forth a string of profanity. He stood and began to wind the rope around his arm. He looked at them, frowning.

"Broken beyond what I can repair. We're stuck down here; there's no way up, other than through this pipe and out to the ocean, thirty miles away!" He ranted, storming around and shoving stuff into his bag. Zach jumped off of the rung and landed a bit unsteadily on his feet. Grabbing Joe's arm, he pulled him to the beginning of the level pipe.

"Would you shut up?" He hissed lowly. "Can't you see Emily's scared enough? I don't know why I even let her do this!" Dragging his hand over his face, he glared at the older man through is fingers. "We have to get her to a hospital, now. She acts all tough, I know, but I can see when she's crying, _hurting,_ on the inside."

"So we turn ourselves over to the Autobots?" Joe snapped quietly, putting his face a mere inch away from Zach's. "Don't you know how much trouble we'll be in for sneaking down here?"

"Why do you think I was trying to stop you in the first place?" Zach shoved him away.

"The Autobots don't know anything about healing humans! They'd probably replace her arm with a mechanical one!" Joe accused.

"No, they'd get us help!" Zach glared at him. "She's my sister, and she's hurt. We're doing things my way from now on." Joe stared at him, stunned by the sudden surge of anger.

"Wh—what?" He spluttered.

"You heard me. There are human scientists up there too. They'll know what to do." Zach snatched up his bag and threw it over his shoulder. Walking over to the rung, he looked up at Emily. "Hop down, I'll catch you. We're going to get you some help."

Emily scooted to the edge of the rung. After dropping Zach's coat to the ground, she slid over the edge and into Zach's awaiting arms. Carefully setting her on her own feet, he wrapped his coat around his waist and pulled on both of their packs.

"Where are we going?" She asked Joe curiously as Zach settled the bags on his back.

"To the Autobots," Joe snapped. "Mister High and Mighty wants to get you help as fast as possible."

"You mean we won't be able to interview Optimus Prime?" She asked sadly.

"Yeah, that's exactly what it means!" Joe snarled.

"Well, I'd rather have Emily healthy than have her talking to a robot with a bleeding, broken arm." Zach said impatiently. "It's my call, not yours. We don't even know you that well!"

"So? We both want the same thing! Why can't you accept that?" Joe snarled. Emily put her good hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Joe, we can catch him another time, I'm sure. Seeing a doctor right now sounds pretty good to me," she went to stand next to Zach. "Sorry I caused all this trouble."

"Trouble?" He ruffled her head, smiling. "Don't worry about it, Em. You've done just fine. We got in without being caught, didn't we?" He beamed his flashlight down the tunnel. "That's certainly something to boast about on your site."

"But they were expecting an interview with _the _Optimus Prime!" She protested, flinching as she tried to move her arm.

"Keep your arm still." Zach ordered. "C'mon, let's go."

**3:15 PM, November 9, 2008**

**Drainage Pipe**

**Autobase, Oregon**

"Zach, I'm tired." Emily sighed heavily, stopping to lean against the pipe. The young man stopped and shined his light on her.

"You look a little pale. C'mon, according to Joe, the grate should be just beyond this bend." He held out his hand and she took it with her good arm. "I'll help you along."

"You guys done flirting? I found the grate!" Joe shouted from around the bend in the tunnel, shining his light on the two and blinding them.

"I already told you--!" Zach began to shout, but Emily stopped him.

"Don't bother. He's just being a jerk 'cause he's angry. C'mon, let's go." She leaned on his arm and they carefully made their way down the gloomy tunnel.

"Are you sure you should have walked here with us?" He asked as they picked their way around.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure. Look, light." They rounded the corner and saw Joe standing in a shaft of golden light, trying to get to the grate by jumping. He was just a few feet too short.

"Zach, get up on his shoulders," Emily suggested. They looked at each other with a moments disgust, then shrugged and approached one another. Joe bent down and let Zach climb up on his shoulders before carefully straightening up. Zach carefully gripped the rungs of the grate and tried to move it. The metal whined in protest before moving a few inches to the left. He gave it another good push and managed to open up a space big enough for them to crawl out of near the edge.

Crouching down, he looked Joe. "Move to the right some. And—stop!" Standing, Joe grabbed the edge of the metal floor and hauled him up into the storage room.

It was as large as a hanger, and twice as sparkling. Metal and wooden crates alike were piled up all around the walls, leaving a space in the center where one could move about and sort through the boxes. The grate was right in the middle of the room, leaving Zach feeling unbearably exposed. Fluorescent lights above hummed loudly and burned into his eyes as they tried to adjust.

"You okay, Zach?" Emily asked as her head popped up out of the grate. "Wow, look at all this stuff! Help me out, would you?" Shaking off his amazement, Zach pulled her up onto the silver floor, careful of her arm. The backpacks were tossed up to them. Lastly, leaning over the grate, Zach held his arm out to Joe. In one jump, the man grabbed it and pulled himself up onto the floor. Kicking the grate back into place, he looked around and whistled.

"Nice digs. You could probably shelter an entire third world country in here." He wandered over to one of the crates and tapped on it with his knuckles. "Steel," he verified, examining the Autobot symbol stamped into the metal.

"So where do we go from here?" Emily asked, helping Zach get the two bags on his back.

"To a doctor," Zach muttered, looking for an exit. Right in front of them stood a huge door, obviously too large for them to move. "Do you think those doors open automatically, like on the sci-fi channel?" He asked the others.

"I'll go check," Joe volunteered, starting towards the door. While he went to examine the door, Emily wandered to the crates and pondered their marks just as curiously as Joe had.

Zach stood evenly between the two, looking from one to the other. Stretching and wondering what was so captivating about the strange image, he finally settled on watching Joe. He was leaning towards the door, tapping on it curiously.

It slid open, and standing there in the doorway, was a security Autobot, rifle pointing into the room, visor flashing backwards statistics at them. He was mostly red and silver, with splashes of dark blue here and there across his boxy armor. His gray face adopted a startled look at they landed on the human at his feet, and the ones across the room.

Zach and the Autobot both stiffened upon sighting each other. Joe carefully backed away from the gun toting Mech until he ran into Zach, who stopped him. The trio stared at each other for a moment, until…

"_This _is the Decepticon invasion I was supposed to check out?" The Autobot asked them, flipping up his visor, revealing honest light green optics that crinkled at the corners as he smiled. He put the safety on his rifle and kneeled down to look at the two more closely. "What are you two doing here? Nobody is supposed to be able to get through the security system."

Zach's mouth flapped open for a moment, as did Joe's. The Autobot chuckled and keyed the door closed, before sitting and relaxing against the wall beside his rifle. "Hey, you two aren't in trouble or anything. I'm sure Prime would love to close up any gaps we have in security. You might have just solved a future problem for us."

Joe seemed to loose all fright at the mention of Optimus Prime. "Really?" He asked eagerly, stepping forward and looking up at the bot. "Do you think he would want to thank us?"

The Autobot and Zach both groaned and ran their hands over their faces. "Wait until Kup finds out that I let in another crazy fan," he cracked a grin at the seemingly insulted Joe. "Don't worry, kid. I'm sure Prime would love to thank you. Now, just _who _are you?"

"Joe Carter, reporter for the New York Times." He boasted proudly, and the Autobots optics seemed to darken for a moment at the mention of his profession.

"You didn't come here for an interview, did you?" He asked.

Joe instantly backed down, "No, of course not! Mostly came just to see Autobase. An interview would be a lucky bonus on my part."

The Autobot nodded. "Uh huh, well then, I'm sure you won't be disappointed with our security policy: no private interviews with any Autobots or scientists residing in Autobase." The man's face fell a bit, but he forced himself to brighten up.

"That's alright. It was enough just to get to step onto Autobase soil." He grinned.

The Autobot switched his focus to Zach. "And you?"

"Zach. Just Zach," he admitted with a shrug.

"So then why are you here, Just Zach?" The Autobot asked, relaxing against the wall. The young adult glanced over his shoulder to look at Emily, and quirked his brows when he saw her. She was staring at the Autobot, mouth agape, face pale.

"Are you alright, Emily?" He asked in concern, hurrying over to her side. She shook herself out of her stupor as he patted her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit surprised, I guess." She smiled up at the mech. "Hello."

He smiled back. "Hello. Emily, was it?" She nodded. "I'm Sharpbend. So what are you and you friend doing here?"

"Well, I came—" Emily was quickly cut off as Zach interrupted.

"She came to look after me!" He said quickly. "I, uh, really didn't give her much of a choice! She only came to make sure I didn't get in trouble." A quick elbow in the side, and Emily was nodding in consent.

"Uh, yeah, I had to look after him!" She said through clenched teeth.

Sharpbend smiled. "That's sweet; you humans always seem to be looking out for each other." He looked at her curiously. "I've never seen any of the scientists wear their outer armor like that. Is it a new, er, style?"

"Outer armor?" Emily asked, glancing down at her roughly bandaged arm. "Oh, uh, no," she blushed slightly, "I fell and hurt my arm when we were climbing."

"Will you be alright?" Sharpbend adopted a concerned look; he knew how fragile humans were, especially after a few had been involved in one of Wheeljack's exploding experiments

Emily glanced at Zach, who shrugged slightly. "She could use some help. Do you think you could get us to a doctor?"

The Mech brightened up. "Yeah, there's a doctor here on the base! I'm sure a bit of matienence will get you back up to speed!" Then he said the word that Emily had been dying to hear for the last six months, "Transform!"

The grate on the front of his chest fell forward as he collapsed to the ground, his body falling into a boxy jeep that seemed to be a combination of Earth and Cybertron technology. He popped open his doors, chuckling at their shocked expressions. "Hop in! I'll take you to the Medical Bay."

Joe jumped into the driver's seat, examining the dashboard in unerring interest. Zach helped his surrogate sister into the passenger seat, and climbed into the back. Seatbelts shot out of the seats and crossed their chests, strapping them in.

"Alright, let's go!"

**3:30 PM, November 9, 2008**

**Outside of Medical Bay 3A**

**Autobase, Oregon**

Sharpbend skidded to a stop in front of the medical bay, leaving black streaks along the ground. They hadn't seen anyone on the way there, mostly due to the sunny weather outside. The three humans clutched their seatbelts, faces tinged green from the high speed and tight turns. They sunk back in their seats, feeling sick.

"Red Alert! Red Cross! Open up!" Sharpbend shouted to the door. There was a crash, shouting and a loud 'thwop' before the door was slammed to the side.

"This had better be _good, _Sharpbend!" A large white Mech with crosses on his shoulder armor snarled at thin air. He blinked before glancing down at the sniper and three humans. "Sharpbend," he said in a dangerous voice.

"I know, I know!" The bot grumbled, shooting through the gap between Red Alert's feet. "Where's Dr. Merrick?"

Red Cross, a slightly younger Mech with the same build as Red Alert, glanced down at the four. "Hey Sharpbend, what's the rush?" He said with his ever easy-going attitude.

"Emily here fell and hurt her arm. I was wondering, is Dr. Merrick was around?" He popped open his doors and waited patiently for the three humans to disembark. When their feet were on the metal plated floor, he transformed to his robotic mode and gripped Red Cross's wrist. The medic did the same.

"Emily, huh?" He released Sharpbend's hand and glanced down at the three, his optics landing on the girl's hastily bandaged arm. "I see. I'll contact the doctor. I'm sure he's not to busy on a gorgeous day like this."

"Busy? I doubt he even knows the meaning of the word." Sharpbend snickered as Red Cross moved to the computer counsel and typed in a few strange numbers.

"Hey doc, you there?" He asked, typing the edge of the board impatiently.

"Something wrong, Red Cross?" A patient voice asked from the other end.

"Yeah, some humans snuck in and one bashed up her arm. Think you can get over here?"

"Where is 'here'?"

"Medbay 3A."

"Give me five minutes. Merrick out."

The connection closed and Red Cross turned back to the humans. "He'll be right here," he assured them before turning to Sharpbend. "Does Kup know that you're here instead of patrolling?" He asked.

The mech hit his forehead. "Agh! I left my rifle in the storage room! That old geezer will have my head if he finds out!" Ignoring Red Alerts snort, he looked at the three humans. "I gotta jet. Red Cross here will take care of you guys. See ya!" He tore out of the room, feet slamming against the metal in thunder like explosions.

Red Cross watched him disappear, before kneeling before the three humans. "So, you're Emily," he pointed at the injured girl, "but who are you two?"

"Joe Carter," the reporter stepped forward, wisely excluding his profession.

"Zach," the brother said with a shrug, moving to support Emily.

"Nice to meet you both, I'm sure," Red Alert said impatiently, "but how did you manage to get in?"

Red Cross waved his hand airily towards his commander. "C'mon Red Alert, give them a break. At least let Emily get fixed up before we pummel them with questions, which I'm sure Prime is going to do anyway."

The senior medic opened his mouth to retort, but was quickly interrupted by a flaring of lights as a Highway Patrol vehicle slid into the Medbay, followed by an ambulance. An aged man with white hair and bearing a black medical bag climbed out of the police vehicle, looking slightly green around the gills. The car quickly transformed into a large mech with a grey-silver face and bright optics. His armor was mostly white and blue, his Autobot symbol resting on his chest. The doors of his vehicle mode flared out behind his shoulders, proudly stating 'police' under the window.

Behind him, the ambulance transformed into a very simple white bot with a red highlight around his hips and a welding tool for his right hand. His chest was made up of the windshield, and his boxy shoulders and red crosses etched across them. His light optics quickly sized up the situation, and he managed a sigh.

"Prime is going to love this," he muttered to the cop car, who nodded.

Dr. Merrick, meanwhile, had gone straight to Emily and, disregarding Zach's warning of 'be careful!', began to unwrap the jacket from her arm. As soon as he saw the bone sticking through her skin, he sighed and shook his head.

"A compound fracture," he reported to the three medics, holding Emily's arm lightly and inspecting the angel of the sliver. "It won't be easy to fix, but I can do it." He mused to himself, nodding in absentminded thought.

"Hold up!" Zach shoved himself in between the doctor and his patient.

The doctor gave him a slightly peeved look. "Yes?" He asked patiently.

"She needs to go to a hospital," the protective brother insisted.

"Really?" Dr. Merrick asked, looking insulted.

Zach nodded. "Yes! I won't have some strange scientist operating on my sister!"

"Then you shouldn't have snuck into Autobase!" The doctor growled. Emily tapped her brother's shoulder.

"It's okay Zach, really. I've read about Dr. Merrick; he's one of the best." She cracked a grin. "I'm more worried about his bill than anything else."

The doctor smiled. "There you go. Now, missy," he moved the startled Zach out of the way and swept Emily towards one of the smaller doors in the back of the room, talking earnestly. The brother clenched his teeth and was about to go after them, but a large finger of his shoulder stopped him.

"Chill, Zack. He knows what he's doing." Red Cross advised. "Emily obviously trusts him, and you should too."

Joe patted his other shoulder. "Dr. Merrick is one of the best. He'll take good care of Emily."

A cough came from the back of the room, and the three turned to face the police car. "Excuse my impatience, but just _what is going on?" _

The two humans exchanged worried looks; where to start?

"Well," Joe chewed his bottom lip and bit then began from where they had met on the plane.

**6:00 PM, November 9, 2008**

**Medical Bay 3A**

**Autobase, Oregon**

Prowl, the police car and second in command of the Autobots, had left after nearly two hours of questioning their way of 'infiltration' and their motives. Joe and Zach stuck with the story that Emily hadn't come by will, if only to protect her from getting into even more trouble. Ratchet, the ambulance, and Red Alert had left to enjoy the sun a bit ago, leaving the two men with Red Cross. The young medic was pummeling them with questions about Earth, from television to music to politics. The two tried to keep up and answer the best they could. Any answer, however, seemed to satisfy the knowledge-hungry bot.

Sharpbend tore into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. Casting a furtive look around the room, he dove behind the computer mainframe, wedging himself out of sight among the wires. Grabbing a loose metal plate from the wall, he placed it in front of him, completing the hiding place. The two humans and medic exchanged a strange look.

"Kup?" Red Cross guessed.

"Affirmative; I'm not here, and you haven't seen me." He fell silent. The two humans grinned at each other before turning back to Red Cross.

"So who's Kup?" Zach asked.

"Head of Security, along with Ironhide. I can only guess he found out about Sharpbend's little escapade this afternoon." He grinned, but it quickly disappeared as an aged green-grey bot burst into the room.

"Where is Sharpbend?" He demanded, scouring the room with his optics. They landed on the two humans and Red Cross, and he frowned. "Well?"

The medic shrugged. "Haven't seen him since he brought the humans here," he confessed. The old bot ground his teeth angrily.

"If you see him, have him report to my office _immediately!_"

"Yes sir," Red Cross nodded. The bot turned and stormed out of the room.

"Kup?" Zach guessed.

"Kup," Sharpbend confirmed as he untangled himself from the wires of the computer. The door banged back open, and Kup stood there, smirking. The mech paled. "Oh slaggit all…" He muttered.

The older mech grabbed his hearing processor and dragged him out of the room, chastising him thoroughly. From their place on the medical gurney, Zach and Joe collapsed into laughter.

"He's good," Zach commented, getting his laughter under control.

"Bet he's not to pleased with us, though." Emily said as she was helped out of the back operating room by Dr. Merrick. Her right arm was bound with a lightweight cast of light blue.

Red Cross quickly moved to the girl's side and lowered his hand for her to step onto. She smiled at the doctor as he helped her up.

"Thanks again Dr. Merrick." She said warmly.

"Not a problem, dear," he smiled and winked before hurrying out of the room. Moving slowly, Red Cross carefully lifted Emily to the gurney. Zach and Joe helped her off of his hand. She smiled at them.

"Thanks. Still a bit dizzy from the gas, I guess." She glanced up at Red Cross and smiled again. "Thank you for the lift."

"Hmph. Breaking your arm seems to have calmed your fire a bit," Joe commented. "Maybe you should fall more often."

She smacked him playfully. "Shouldn't you call Carole and let her know we're alright?" She asked pointedly. He paled a bit.

"Oh yeah…she's probably going to kill me for forgetting." He quickly pulled out his cell phone and hurried to the other side of the gurney.

The siblings laughed quietly, before Zach turned serious. "How's your arm feeling?"

"Fine, Zach. Dr. Merrick did a wonderful job repairing it." She waved him off. "So what happened while I was gone?"

"Interrogation," Zach muttered, sitting down tiredly.

"Prowl and Ratchet?" Emily guessed, sitting beside him.

"Yeah," Joe said as he came back.

"How's Carole?" Zach asked.

Joe gave a nervous laugh. "Ready to kill," he confessed. Emily looked at the two grinning guys and gave a soft sigh.

"So what do we do now?"

**7:00 PM, November 9, 2008**

**Medical Bay 3A**

**Autobase, Oregon**

"No fair!"

"Hey, watch out!"

"Go the other way!"

"Let go!"

Red Cross shook his head at the three humans as his cyber car crossed the finish line. Placing his controller on his lap, he watched the other three struggle for second place. Emily claimed it, quickly followed by Joe, and then Zach. The medic grinned at them.

"Told ya."

"Oh shut up," the younger of the boys tossed his controller to the side. Emily lightly punched him in the shoulder with her good hand.

"You are such a sore loser, Zach! C'mon, smile." She twisted her head so she could smile up at him. "Please, for me?"

"…Fine. But only on one condition." He suddenly tackled her, tickling the girl fiercely. The other two cracked up as she screamed for mercy.

"Enjoying yourselves?" All activity ceased at the voice. It was strong and carried a large amount of authority. It was not, however, unfriendly. Red Cross had jumped to his feet as though someone had prodded him with a hot iron. Turning to face the doorway, he saluted.

"Good Evening, Commander Prime, sir!"

The three humans stared at the Autobot Leader in awe. He was the largest bot they had seen by far. His blue-gold optics smiled at them from beneath his impressive helm. His red and blue armor looked as though it could withstand a nuclear holocaust, and his very presence seemed to fill up the entire room. Glancing at Red Cross, the corners of his optics seemed to move with a grin beneath his face plate.

"At ease, Red Cross," he granted, optics flashing with a knowing look. The bot relaxed a bit, but still seemed a bit jumpy. The Prime chuckled and turned his attention to the staring humans on the gurney.

Joe scrambled to his feet and gave the commander a hasty salute. Emily shoved the staring Zach off of her and climbed to her feet, amazed. Shaking himself, Zach got up beside him. Optimus Prime seemed to blink at their amazement, and chuckled softly.

"Greetings, I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?" He asked courteously.

The reporter, of course, was the first one to step forward. "I'm Joe Carter, from New York," he gave the Prime a small bow. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

Zach nudged Emily forward; she had frozen up at the sight of her hero. "Uh, I, er, I'm Emily, from Maryland." She stuttered. Optimus gave her a kind smile.

"You must be the girl Dr. Merrick was so smitten with," he crouched down so he could look her in the face. "He said you were the best patient he's ever had." Beneath her freckles, Emily's cheeks turned bright pink. "And your friend is…?"

"Zach," he nodded to the Prime, feeling calm in his presence. "Thank you for helping my sister."

Optimus Prime nodded in return, "Of course. Now then, Mr. Carter," he turned to the other man in question. "Sharpbend told me that you are a reporter for the New York Times?"

Joe nearly choked. Glancing up at Prime, he nodded. "Er, yeah, I am."

"I see. Then why did you not call ahead and ask for an interview? Prowl, my second in command, would have been glad to speak with you." Optimus gave him a stern look. "As a reporter, your employer should have briefed you on the punishments of sneaking into a military base without the proper passes and codes."

He flinched beneath Primes glare. "Yes, they did." He confessed.

Optimus nodded. "My soldier Jazz has already contacted your employer. He's waiting for you to call." His optics gleamed as the man winced, and he turned to the other two.

"As for you two—"

"It was my fault!" Zach immediately jumped in. "I wanted to see the base and found a way to sneak in. Emily only came to make sure I didn't get in trouble."

Optimus chuckled. "I applaud your bravery, Zach, but Dr. Merrick told me different. He said that _you _came to guard _Emily_."

The girl blushed once more and scratched the back of her head. "Heheh, forget to tell you, didn't I?"

"Yes," the boy muttered sullenly, glaring at her from under his ebony locks.

"I'm sorry Zach! But it seemed wrong to lie about such a trivial thing," she shrugged, "I mean; we're both here now, no worse for wear."

The boy snorted. "Yeah, I can imagine your granny's face when we walk up: 'Oh, hello Mrs. Dubbon, how are you today? What happened to Emily's arm? Well, you see, I was supposed to protect her while she went on one of her insane exploits but I completely and utterly failed. So how was your vacation to Florida?"

Emily's retort was cut short as a shout came from Joe, who was on the phone with his employer. "What do you _mean _I'm fired? I'm the best reporter you have!" He shouted into the mouthpiece angrily. Mechs and humans alike winced as he unleashed a string of profanity upon the poor cell phone.

"Er, Red Cross, why don't you give our two guests here a tour of the base? I'll have Wheeljack give Mr. Carter a ride to his residence." Optimus suggested.

"Sure thing, sir!" Red Cross perked up. Sweeping the siblings up in his hand, he set them down and transformed into a SUV ambulance. Popping open his doors, he invited the two inside. "C'mon, I'll give you the best tour of the base ever!" He said energetically. Emily pulled herself up into the passenger seat while Zach took the drivers.

"You're so sweet, Red Cross," She smiled sweetly and patted his dashboard. The medic gave an uncomfortable cough.

"Yes, er," clearing his vocalizer, he sped out of the room, "To the command center!"

**8:30 PM, November 9, 2008**

**Covington Crater Ridge**

**Autobase, Oregon**

The western ridge of Covington Crater was merely two and a half inches wide, made by rock sheared off during the crash. On the outside of the ridge, sitting on a small outcropping of rock, the two humans and their new Autobot friends watched the brilliant pink and yellow sunset. Emily was settled back in-between Red Cross and their newest companion, Bumblebee. They had met several different members of the team throughout their hour and a half tour, but only the infiltration specialist had agreed to join them for the trek up to the ledge. Zach was sitting on Bumblebee's other side, kicking his legs back and forth as they watched the sun sink.

"So Cybertron doesn't have a sun?" He asked curiously as the sky began to fade into deep reds and purples.

Bumblebee shook his head. "No suns. We have two moons, though." He leaned back on his elbows and admired the colors. "There's _nothing _like this on Cybertron." His optics gained a far-away look, gleaming brightly.

"That's sad," Emily said, standing and walking about the ledge to stretch her legs.

"We did have the Sonic Canyons," Red Cross sighed dreamily. "They were beautiful." At Emily's questioning glance, he burst into an explanation. "They were these huge chasms that crawled all over Cybertron, down to the very core! You could go and sit near the edge and shout something into them, and it would echo back at you a hundred fold. But you could also hear the inner-workings of Cybertron too; gears and pumps and stuff. It sounded like that kind of music you have here, uh," He scratched his head for a moment, "Industrial! It sounds like your industrial type of music, only better."

Emily smiled dreamily. "That sounds beautiful. I wish I could see it," she drifted off to the edge of the ledge and ran a hand through her fiery red hair.

Red Cross coughed and glanced at Bumblebee, who shook his head in reply.

"Aw, c'mon Bee! She's such a sweetheart; I'm sure Prime would agree!" He pleaded.

The two humans glanced at each other as Bumblebee said, "After he toasted you for telling them. Can you imagine the trouble we'd be in for telling them that?"

"Telling us what?" Emily prodded, poking Red Cross's knee. "C'mon, you can trust us, we won't tell anybody else!"

The medic gave Bumblebee a pleading look, and the yellow bot sighed. "Fine, but for the record, I'm against this."

Red Cross grinned and looked down at Emily and Zach. "Prime has been setting up a supply run to Cybertron for a while now. A few of the scientists are going up to see the planet; maybe we can convince him to let you two come!"

Emily was quiet for a moment, and then she jumped and gave a wild 'whoop!' "That would be so cool! Imagine, Zach, we could be some of the first humans to step on Cybertron soil, er, metal!"

He shook his head. "You think your grandmother would let you go?" He stooped down and shook a cane at her. "You crazy girl! You ain't going to a planet of robots, no siree! If those hunks of steel come anywhere near you I'll sick my dentures on 'em!" He stormed around the ledge, muttering to himself. Red Cross and Bumblebee looked away, trying to stifle their laughter.

Emily wrapped her arms around his neck as he straightened and looked pleading up at him. "Please Zach? Could we at least ask? Please?" She pleaded.

"Emily—" His brotherly concern speech was cut off as Bumblebee's com-link crackled to life.

"Bumblebee, have you seen the new humans?" Prowl's stern voice echoed across the ledge.

"They're right here, sir," Bumblebee replied.

"Send them down to the Command Center. Prowl out." The connection broke.

Red Cross shook his head. "What a stiff," he shrugged. "C'mon, Zach, lets head down there." He swept the human up onto his shoulder.

Emily pouted. "What about me?" Before the medic could answer, Bumblebee gently grabbed her under her arms and lifted her up onto his own shoulder.

"You get to ride with the cool bot," he grinned.

Red Cross snorted. "Yeah, right. Race to the bottom?"

"Loser buys the energon?" Bumblebee smirked.

"And the soda!" Emily chimed in.

"You're on!"

**8:59 PM, November 9, 2008**

**Command Center**

**Autobase, Oregon**

Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ratchet were waiting in the Command Center for the two bots and their human friends. Bumblebee and Emily waltzed in first, him sipping on an energon cube, her swinging an orange soda back and forth. Red Cross and Zach came in after them, scowling, with their own drinks in hand.

Ratchet raised an optic curiously. "Everything alright?" He asked them.

Emily grinned. "They're just sore 'cause they lost the race!" She chimed happily.

Optimus had to chuckle at the girls bright attitude. It seemed that you could throw anything at her and have it bounce straight back in positive rays. Getting down on one knee, he held his hand out to her. "How is your arm?"

"It's fine, all things considered," She took the finger he offered and shook it up and down happily. He laughed again at her enthusiasm. Standing as she skipped back to her brother's side, he cleared his throat and turned serious.

"Yes, well, all things considered," he glanced at Prowl, who nodded, "We found it necessary to contact your guardians." He raised an optic at their suddenly pale faces. "Emily, your grandmother is waiting for you to call," She looked ready to faint, "and Zach, your mother is expecting the same," His hands began to twitch nervously. "Professor Taket will take you to his office, where you may call home."

A cough came from the back of the room, and the humans turned to see a young man wearing a lab coat smiling patiently at them.

"Good evening. I am Professor Taket," he greeted the two. "And you must be Emily and Zach." He nodded to them.

Optimus smiled at him. "Good evening, Professor." He greeted.

"Greetings Commander Prime," the man nodded. "May I take these two off of your hands for now?" He motioned to the surrogate siblings.

"Of course," Optimus nodded, "I will see you in the morning, Zach and Emily." He turned to Prowl and began to talk in a low voice, meaning that they were dismissed. Ratchet grabbed Red Cross's arm and dragged him off to the Med Bays, chiding him about the work that had piled up. Bumblebee shrugged and transformed.

"Hop in," he popped open three of his doors. Professor Taket took the driver's seat, Zach the passengers, and Emily stretched out in the back. With a rev of his engine, Bumblebee took off out of the room towards the scientist's office.

**10:00 PM, November 9, 2008**

**Base of Covington Crater**

**Autobase, Oregon**

"Fire me, will he?" Joe Carter snarled to himself as he threw his spanner into the engine. "I'll show him! The rotten two-timing b—" He was cut off as a stream of oil spurted into his face. Cursing, he choked and stumbled back, running into something. Wiping oil off his face, he glanced up.

"Joe Carter?" It was an older man with pale skin and pure-white hair. He was dressed smartly in a grey suit with a grey tie and grey shoes with grey laces. His eyes were hidden behind grey sunglasses. There was a grey pocket-watch in his grey breast-suit, which he pulled out impatiently with grey nails and checked the time as Joe righted himself.

"Yeah, I'm Joe." The man eyed him up and down. "Why ya want to know?"

"I believe, Joe Carter, that we may be able to help each other." The man said calmly.

"If yer lookin' fer a ride, I can't give you one." Joe tossed his oil rag on top of the car and leaned against the fender. "She's deader than a bolt."

"Yes, well, I will provide us with transportation." The man replaced his watch. "Now, as I understand, you have lost your job?"

Joe growled and picked his spanner out of the engine angrily. "Don't know what yer talking 'bout." He snarled.

"But you do," the man insisted, "Because of the Great Optimus Prime, you have lost your job, and your only chance to interview your idol for the New York Times. But those kids are still in there, and that little girl will get the interview that is rightfully yours."

Joe slammed the spanner against his engine, breaking a few small wires in the process. "That damn girl," he scowled, "It was her fault we got caught!"

"Exactly," the man agreed, moving so he was right behind Joe. He placed a gnarled hand on his shoulder. "I can help you get your revenge, Carter," he hissed into the mans ear, "but first, I need information. Then the girl is as good as yours."

Joe cracked his knuckles. "I'll ruin her life, like she ruined mine," he nodded to the man. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," the elderly man removed his glasses, revealing dark red irises. "I want to know everything."

**Fin Chapter 2**


End file.
